A leader should not fear debate

Prior to the 13th general election, there had been calls made for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to accept the challenge posed by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to debate on policy issues so that the Malaysians could evaluate both Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) before they cast their votes.

That did not happen.

Last week, the “Nothing to Hide” dialogue was cancelled at the last minute after the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar cited “public order and national harmony.”

Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the dialogue was not cancelled on his order.

Then the blame game started. The organiser, Malaysian Volunteer Lawyers Association (SukaGuam) chairman Datuk Khairul Anwar Rahmat blamed a senior official at the Prime Minister’s Office who “overly disturbed” the forum.

I quote, “Truth is, we met at least three of the prime minister’s senior officials to discuss various situations, including the possibility of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad being in attendance. However, this senior official and his associates went overboard with some matters, which I conclude to be a clash of egos, eventually making SukaGuam and our supporters the scapegoats and victims of the situation.”

Khairul alleged that the officer deliberately interrupted Najib’s arrival by exaggerating the situation and saying Najib could be boo-ed if he attended.

It has been widely speculated that Najib was avoiding having a head-to-head confrontation with Dr Mahathir on pressing issues in the country, particularly on the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

Mahathir has had on many occasions expressed his readiness to have a debate with Najib.

The absence of Najib in the “Nothing to Hide” forum has left many disappointed.

Such chaos would not have take place if we were mature enough to realise that open debate is not about shaming anyone. If we are not willing to be confronted and antagonised, and we just want tame and “controlled” reactions, then how would we progress as a nation?

In his blog and Facebook, Najib later expressed his readiness and commitment to dialogue with the condition, it has to be in a “peaceful” environment.

I quote, “I am always ready and committed to meet and have dialogues with NGOs to discuss national issues on the stage... However, the meeting and dialogue should take place in a peaceful environment so that it brings benefit to everyone. If we are sincere and open-hearted, discussions and dialogues can do good for all of us.”

What was fascinating is how the government perceives their citizens today. Malaysians are not naïve anymore. The government has to understand that their “magic tricks” no longer works in today’s information age.

As how former group editor-in-chief of the New Straits Times, Datuk A. Kadir Jasin questioned, “How could an event, that was organised many days ago, held in a closed premises that belongs to Umno, suddenly be concluded by the police to be unsafe or possibly violent?”

Sabah assembly speaker Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak in his blog wrote that Mahathir had lowered his stature to that of a “street brawler” by wanting to debate with Najib.

I quote, “What they wanted to see was for Dr. Mahathir to hentam Najib in public. In fact, that was the very purpose for Tun Mahathir turning up, so that he could hentam Najib.”

I disagree totally with such a view. Debate such as this is not meant to shame or ridicule anyone in the public.

Political organising and political debate are all designed to influence public opinion in favour of your positions, depending on how you strategise it. Open debates are crucial to get the citizens involved in issues that matter to them. In the mean time, they could generate critical mass and critical thinking.

In one respect, the risk for Najib is perhaps bigger than appears obvious. There is a more subtle effect. This chaos made him looks afraid to face his critics, or in a layman term, he “chickens out”.

Leader image is not just about the leader. The consequence goes beyond that. If Najib fails to retain Malaysians’ trust on his leadership, it will affect the party and subsequently, weaken his ability to put across policies.

It is unfortunate that, our leadership chooses to remain disconnected from the public. Having said so, our politicians should stop playing the blame game whenever issues arise and come forward and debate on issues in a mature manner. – June 8, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.